If I might, he has a hank on jib, the TAN might get trashed sliding up and down a bare forestay...

I presume you meant "ATN" above (as in an ATN Tacker) and you are exactly correct. With naught but a bare headstay, the parrel beads are replaced with a short length of double layered of webbing, sewed together, with grommets on each end.

__________________"It is not so much for its beauty that the sea makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the waves, that so wonderfully renews a weary spirit."

But why not just fly it as a symmetrical spi, just without the boom? Even though I have a spi boom with all its paraphernalia, I do this some times to avoid the complexity of the boom. You won't be pointing very high but if you are running or on a broad reach, it will sure speed you up!

Flying this setup off the wind without a pole will reduce the power of the spinnaker by some big factor, say 50-70%. Better than than none, yes, but not at all what the sail can offer.

I've flown a Sym. chute on a Hunter 38 with no pole. We rigged up a strop (length of line with an eye splice at each end) around the anchor roller with the jaw of a large snap shackle pinning the ends of the strop into a longish loop (3'?). The tack of the chute was held by the snap shackle. We used sheets twice the length of the boat so we could gybe the chute by streaming it ahead of the headstay and turning it inside out.

It worked pretty well and cost next to nothing - $400 for a decent used chute, $200 for the lines and shackles.

Easy to fly and lots of fun for small $$. We could get surprisingly high with the rig but couldn't sail very deep because of the big main on the Hunter.

The friend who owns the boat said he's seen 10 knots on the speedo flying it like that in a breeze.

__________________
I, myself, personally intend to continue being outspoken and opinionated, intolerant of all fanatics, fools and ignoramuses, deeply suspicious of all those who have "found the answer" and on my bad days, downright rude.

Flying this setup off the wind without a pole will reduce the power of the spinnaker by some big factor, say 50-70%. Better than than none, yes, but not at all what the sail can offer.

Yeah, probably, at least once you are off the wind.

However: (a) In the light winds I am using the spi (I usually single-hand and am pretty conservative, so no gale-force spinakering for me), the spi brings the boat up to pretty much the speed of the wind. If it had 10 times more power, it would STILL be the speed of the wind

And (b), the OP specifically asked for a possibility to use his spi without a boom.

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